Rico Hizon likes Tolkien, Tolstoy & Teodoro

Rico Hizon has joined the prestigious British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Asia bureau in Singapore after eight years with CNBC Asia, a business and financial news network. Rico was the first Filipino anchor at CNBC and he has broken new ground again at BBC as the first Filipino male news presenter.

At his new post, Rico produces, writes for and anchors Asia Business Report on BBC World. Morning updates are telecast at 6:30, 7:30, 9:45,11:45 and an afternoon update airs at 1:30. He says he’s very excited by the new challenges and is having fun in his new home network. If you need to contact Rico, he can be reached at rico.hizon@bbc.co.uk.

Rico Hizon’s Book List

1) Asian Eclipse (Exposing The Dark Side Of Business In Asia) by Michael Backman – This book uncovers some penetrating insights into the seamier side of Asian business and provides a glimpse into the highly successful overseas Chinese business networks worldwide. This book helped me a lot in understanding how Asians do business and in my job as a business journalist.

2) Bencab by Krip Yuson and Cid Reyes – A comprehensive and in-depth look at one of the country’s foremost contemporary painters of Philippine art. Great literature! Great works!

3) Asian Branding (A Great Way To Fly) by Ian Batey – If I were not a television journalist, I would have been in marketing and advertising. This is a fascinating blueprint on how an Asian company can be catapulted into a global brand.

4) The Filipino Press, Media, Democracy And Development by Luis Teodoro and Melinda de Jesus – An insightful look at the impact of media on Philippine society.

5) Art Philippines (A History: 1521-Present) – If you love Philippine art, this is the best reference material on the market.

6) The Lord Of The Rings by J.R.R Tolkien – I’ve read the book and seen the movie – glorious!

7) Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – A perfect tale of love and war!

8) The Hardy Boys And Tom Swift Series – Science Fiction And Fantasy – Call me totoy! But the young, spirited boy in me will always love the investigative and adventurous stories of the Hardy Boys and Tom Swift. Even 25 years hence, I will still enjoy reading these books.

9) ESPN Sports Almanac by Gerry Brown – I love sports! Buy this book every year! Check out all the data, stats and results of the different sporting disciplines. My favorites are American Football, Major League Baseball, NBA Basketball, NHL Hockey, Soccer and Tennis.

10) Jack Straight From The Gut by Jack Welch and John A. Byrne – I love turnaround stories. Jack is the man! Turning around a loss-making company into one of the most successful firms in global corporate history – GE! I want to have his brains and business acumen!

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The Reading Club recommends Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs, available at National Book Store and Powerbooks. Try to pick up of this month’s Oprah, distributed by Emerald Headway.

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Your comments and suggestions are always welcome at readclub@aol.com.